Monday, November 24, 2008

Qurban And Aqiqah Explained

Qurban And Aqiqah (lecture by Ustaz Zakaria on 23/11/08)


Qurban or Udhiya is animal (livestock) sacrifice usually done at the time of Dhuha. It is accepted to slaughter at other times, but could pose problem with time constraint as it takes long time to slaughter, skin and cut the bones and meat.

In mazhab Shafi’i, it is sunnah muakkad to do qurban. This holds for a pilgrim or non-pilgrim alike. Qurban is never obligatory unless stated beforehand as a nazar. A nazar is like a vow where we impose obligation to ourselves to perform something sunnah as an appreciation if something that we wish for materialize.
Qurban could also become obligatory if we put a ta’yin on animal that belongs to us. This is another vow that we make to ourselves such as: "Once this goat matures, I’m going to slaughter it and make a feast."

In comparison to mazhab Hanafi, qurban is obligatory to every person who can afford.

Aqiqah is livestock sacrifice made anytime of the year when a child is born. In a hadith, a child is held ransom until he or she is paid off with an aqiqah. It is said that a child who dies before puberty can give shafa’ah (intercession) to his parents in the akhirah. Imam Ahmad (r.h.) also of the same opinion, but he said parents who have not done aqiqah on their child are not entitled to such shafa’ah.

The time for qurban starts once the sun rises on the day of Nahar (10th of Zulhijjah). However It is preferered to wait until the sun rises about 2 feet up. This time lapses 4 days later - once the sun goes down on the third day of tashriq (13th Zulhijjah).

Animals qualified to be slaughtered could be camels, cattle, buffaloes, sheep, or goats. Meat of a camel, cow, or buffalo can be distributed into 7 equal parts to be shared by 7 persons. 1 such part is equivalent to a whole goat. There is no restriction that all 7 parts of a sacrificed animal be used exclusively for qurban only. From the 7 parts, it is allowed to make 1 part as qurban, another as aqiqah, another to be sold at the meat market, another for family consumption etc.



Among the qualifications are that the animal must be of mature age and it has no defect. A cow missing an earlobe, or tail cut-off, or mad (diseased) all are not fit to be sacrificed since a part of the edibles is missing.

Our prophet (saw) has told us to select a meaty animal for sacrifice. In the day of Judgement, it will become our mount while crossing the Sirot (the bridge that makes the sinners slip down and the faithful pass through). The bridge is the most crucial moment of our life, if you cross safely, there is a good chance that you will be safe in the Akhirah.

If you cannot afford an animal, then you can always share with 6 other fellow muslims. Qurban is the most preferred sadaqah among all recommended sadaqah. (Zakah being the highest ranked sadaqah, but is obligatory.)

There is a hadith that says there are no deeds more noble on the day of nahar than shedding (livestock) blood. Ibnu Abbas (r.anhuma) made further commentary from this hadith that if you cannot afford even 1/7 of an animal, then at least slaughter a chicken. In this case, you get a reward for shedding blood even though you have no reward for qurban.

Allah demands that a financially able person make a qurban ever year.

In a hadith, Allah will give reward for every inch of the slaughtered animal. Even a single strand of hair is taken into account. Imagine the huge reward we get by sacrificing an animal and giving away the meat to the poor who rarely see meat on their dinner table.



The meat and other edible parts are to be given away to the needy, but a portion of them can still be consumed by the person who does the qurban or aqiqah.

It is not right to complain in case we do not get enough of our share of meat. Whenever we perform deeds for the sake of Islam, we should never expect worldly benefit from them. Look instead at the rewards Allah reserves for us in the Akhirah.

As of today, 3 parts of a cow have been pledged for our madrasah. We hope to get 4 more so we can slaughter a single cow and cook the meat for the students. The madrasah is there for the students, so we have to give the meat to them. It is unfortunate that in the past, a cow had been donated to the madrasah, but the meat was all eaten by the guests. The students could only watch from far. Even I myself was not offered.

As for our qurban initiative for the country of Kemboja, we already have 40 cattle. Our target is 50. Anyway my phone has been ringing feverishly, and a lot of interested Muslims have inquired because they want to participate.

Wallahu a'lam

Friday, November 7, 2008

Qurban and 'Aqiqah

All readers are invited to participate in the Qurban (Udhiyah) for Eidul Adha this year or 'Aqiqah. The cows will be bought and sacrificed in Kemboja as has been done the past few years.

One part (1/7) of a cow is priced at RM230. One whole cow is at RM1,610. Please register early before Ustaz Zakaria depart for Kemboja on 6th December.

The Qurban or Aqiqah form is available here (in Acrobat's pdf): English or Malay

Wallahu a'lam

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Hadith on Mercy

al-Awaail az-Zamzamiyyah al-Malikiyyah wa Ba’du al-Musalsalaat al-Mashhurah 25/10/2008
I had the opportunity to read under Ustaz Fahmi Zamzam al-Banjari an-Nadwi al-Maliki a few weeks ago in Pusat Pengajian Ba'alawi in Bukit Kemensah.

It'd been quite an adventure driving around past maghrib looking for the place, with my good friend on the phone guiding which landmark to look out for and so on.

This place is actually a semi-detached house bought by a generous brother (I heard for quite a sum!) and turned into sort of a zawiyah. The living room complete with women's section, air-conditioner and excellent sound system acts as the lecture hall. There are bedrooms upstairs that visiting shaykhs can use for the duration of their stay. no doubt this brother is the kind of muslim that we all should be envious with. May Allah return His favor to him, and may He send us more muslims as generous.

Fitting to the occasion, I got ijazah to practice the very first hadith (Musalsal Awwaliyyah Haqiqiyyah ) plus 2 more musalsalat ahadith from the shaykh. In full respect of the "musalsal" spirit, I write here exactly as narrated to me.

Hadith ar-Rahmah al-Musalsal bil-Awwaliyyah as narrated to us by Ustaz Fahmi Zamzam:
I, a poor servant striving for mercy of Allah The Most Powerful, Ahmad Fahmi Zamzam al-Banjari (named) by birth, and an-Nadwi by scholarship, and al-Maliki by tribute;


It has been narrated by our shaykh the knowledge of al-Hijaz, the fragrance of the land of al-Haram as-Sayyid Muhammad bin ‘Alawi al-Maaliki al-Hasani (rh) in the very first hadith, and he said: It has been narrated to us in Musalsal Awwaliyyah Haqiqiyyah from the shaykh of our shaykhs (al-Mu’ammar as-Syarif ‘Abdul Kabir bin Muhammad al-Mahi bin Ibrahim as-Saqali al-Husaini) at Masjid Nabawi as-Syarif in year 1380 A.H, and this is the very first hadith we heard from him. And he said: It has been narrated by (as-Sayyid ‘Ali bin Zohir al-Watari al-Madani), he said (Ahmad Minnatullahi al-Azhari) told us in 1287 AH and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said ('Abdul Rahman bin Muhammad bin ‘Abdul Rahman al-Kuzburi ad-Dimashqi) told us, and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said (Badruddin Muhammad as-Shahir bi-Ibn Budair al-Maqdisi) told us and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said:

(Abu an-Nasr Mustafa ad-Dimyati) told us and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said (Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Sa’id As-Shahir bi-Ibn ‘Aqilah) Sohibul-Musalsalaat told us and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said (as-Shaykh Ahmad bin Muhammad ad-Dimyati al-Mashhur Bi-Ibn ‘Abdul Ghani) told us in a gathering of people of knowledge, and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said (al-Mu’ammar Muhammad bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz al-Manufi) told us and this is the first hadith I heard from him and he gave ijazah to me together with all his narrations, he said (as-Shaykh al-Mu’ammar Abu al-Khair bin ‘Ammus asr-Rashidi) told us and this is the first hadith I heard from him and he gave ijazah to me together with all his narrations in Rabi’ul Awwal 1002 (AH), he said Shaykhul Islam as-Sharif Zakaria bin Muhammad al-Ansori told us and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said:

The Seal of all Huffaz ash-Shihab Abu al-Fadil Ahmad bin ‘Ali bin Hajar al-‘Asqalani told us and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said (al-Hafiz Zainuddin Abu al-Fadil ‘Abdul Rahimbin al-Husain al-‘Iraqi) informed us with it and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said (as-Sadr Abu al-Fatah Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim al-Maidumi) told us and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said (an-Najib Abu al-Faraj ‘Abdul Latif bin ‘Abdul Mun’im al-Harrani) told us and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said (Al-Hafiz Abu al-Faraj ’Abdul Rahman bin ‘Ali al-Jauzi) informed us with it and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said (Abu Sa’id Isma’il bin Abu Soleh an-Naisaburi) told us and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said my father (Abu Soleh Ahmad bin ‘Abdul Malik al-Mu’zin) told us and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said (Abu Tohir Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Mahmish az-Ziadi) told us and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said (Abu Hamid Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Yahya bin Bilal al-Bazzar) told us and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said (‘Abdul Rahman bin Bishr bin al-Hakim an-Naisaburi) told us and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said:

Sufyan bin ‘Uyainah told us and this is the first hadith I heard from him, he said from ‘Amru bin Dinar, from Abi Qabus (the freed slave of ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amru bin al-‘As), from ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amru bin al-‘As (ra),

that Rasulullah (saw) said:


الراحمون يرحمهم الرحمن تبارك وتعالى، إرحمو من في الارض، يرحمكم من في السماء.


The Most Benificient (Allah) in His high Glory pour mercy upon those who love each other. So have mercy among those on earth, those in the heaven (angels) will have mercy upon you.

As-Sakhawi said this hadith has been quoted by al-Bukhari in his book "Kunya", Al-Humaidi and Ahmad in their "Musnid", al-Baihaqi in "Branches of Iman". Abu Daud mentioned it in his Sunan, and Tirmizi said in his Jami’:"hasan sahih". The hadith also quoted by al-Hakim in his Mustadrak as sahih.
This hadith is musalsal up to Sufyan bin ‘Uyainah.

Comments by Ustaz Fahmi Zamzam:

  • Hadith Musalsal bin-Awwaliyyah Haqiqiyyah literally means "the true first hadith". The first time you meet any hadith master, request from him "awwaliyyah haqiqiyyah", then he would know that you are a student with manners. Most likely he would narrate you this first hadith.
  • This hadith narrated to Ustaz Fahmi Zamzam by Sayyid Muhammad bin Alawi al-Maliki al-Hasani in 1408 AH.
  • The second shaykh in the chain: Ibrahim as-Saqali – Ibrahim from island of Sicily. The ancient Jauhar as-Saqali was a general who built al-Azhar university in 358 AH.
  • The 4th shaykh in chain: Al-Kuzburi – of a Kurdish tribe. Shaykh Ramadan al-Buti, Salehuddin al-Ayyubi also Kurdish. Many of them Shafi’i in mazhab and either Naqshabandi or Qadiri in tariqah.
  • Al-Mu’ammar – somebody who lived to very old age.
  • Zainuddin ‘Abdul Rahim bin al-Husain al-‘Iraqi – the famous master who made takhrij on ahadith presented by Imam Ghazali in Ihya ‘Ulumiddin .
  • Fathul Bari by Imam Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani is by ulama' consensus the best ever commentary on Sahih Bukhari.
  • Al-Hafiz are the masters who memorize at least 100,000 ahadith (matan + sanad).
Wallahu a'lam

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Issue with Missing Solah

Munyatul Musolli 2nd November 2008

It is not allowed to make friends with those who deliberately forgo their obligatory solah, instead we have to show enmity towards them. We should not get acquainted with them, love them, or live in the same dwelling with them.

We behave so because these offenders clearly oppose the commands of Allah and His messenger. Allah has said:


لاَ تَجِدُ قَوْمًا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّٰهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِر يُوَالدُّونَ مَن حَادَّ اللّٰهَ وَرَسُولَهُ
وَلَوْ كَانُوْا آبَاءَهُم أَوْ أَبْنَاهُم


You will not find a group of people who believe in Allah and the hereafter, in amity with those who stand against Allah and His messenger – even if those were their own fathers or their own children.
(to the end of verse).

Having good relations with this type of offender is clearly denying yourself the true faith (iman).

Making Up Missed Solah
Those who miss their solah being unwary of the time (i.e. being overslept or forgetful) are excused provided that:
  • They immediately make up the solah once aware of the mistake.
  • They repent and vow not to repeat the mistake.


Other than the above, it is a grave sin to deliberately miss a solah, even if it is made up afterwards. There is no excuse in skipping solah for the sake of trying to accomplish some worldly pursuit no matter how important.

People of authority are responsible to make sure his populace perform the 5 obligatory solah, the jama’ah and the Friday solah. Whoever miss them should be dealt with force.

For those who are simply too lazy (but they do admit obligationof solah), the authority should ask them to repent and force them to start doing solah. Then if they still resist, capital punishment is not too harsh a sentence upon them.

The authority, be it the king, president, or community leader who fail to enforce obligation of solah (or for that matter, obligatory fasting or zakah) is considered a sinner. This responsibility is not to be taken lightly.

Ustaz Zakaria added:

  • All forms of worship must be done the right way (on basis of knowledge) so they don’t become helter-skelter.
  • The opinion that missed solah need not be made up is a khariji – outside of ulama consensus, and rejected.
  • It is preferred that you make up solah immediately if you miss it being unwary of time.
  • It is compulsory that you make up solah immediately if you miss it deliberately.
  • The community leader’s responsibility is not only to administer affairs of his people, he should also see that each person fulfil obligation to Allah.
  • Your country implement Islamic law or not, you still responsible to guide your populace to obey Allah.
  • Never punish your populace if you are not authorized (by your superiors) to met out punishment. But you still should command them to do good and prevent from doing evil (amar ma’ruf nahi munkar).
  • It is bizarre that some people avoid marrying more than 1 wives on the grounds of afraid being unjust. Yet they pursue political positions, which always carry the tendency to be unjust (to thousands of people under his jurisdiction).


Wallahu a'lam

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